Dear Editor:
Your newspaper carried a short and unfortunately incomplete account of the rising garbage rates in Summerland.
Let’s agree that the vast majority of those in Summerland that receive curbside garbage collection fall into the residential customer variety.
The story indicated a fee increase of $3.40.
But that’s only part of the story.
At this moment, before the implementation of Curbside Cart Collection, residents are permitted to put out for curbside pickup “2 – Garbage Containers containing no more that 95 litres of household garbage.”
So currently 190 litres for $11.10 (minus any discount.)
The new rate, which includes a 120-litre container is $14.50 (minus any discount), the $3.40 increase, as reported.
That’s a 31 per cent increase in cost, with a 37 per cent reduction in permitted pickup.
Oh, but yes “for no charge” you can obtain a 240-litre container. But the “no charge” relates to the delivery/supply of the larger container.
The use of that larger container comes with a $9.58 fee on top of the $14.50 fee making for a $24.08 monthly fee for use of the 240-litre container.
If one chooses the larger container, they will be permitted to put out 240 litres of garbage, a 26 per cent increase in permitted garbage from the existing 190-litre maximum, but for a cost increase of 117 per cent.
That is the full story.
Harry Nicol
Summerland
